UN scrambles for nearly $13 billion emergency aid

10:17 AM,
Jul. 17, 2013

Written by

AP

GENEVA (AP) - Nearly $13 billion in humanitarian aid will be needed this year - a third of it just for Syria - to help 73 million people suffering around the world, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official said Wednesday.

But that's just an estimate, midway through 2013, of what will be needed in what is turning out to be an "unprecedented" challenge, said Valerie Amos, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.

The likelihood is that as much as a third of what's needed won't be raised, according to the U.N.'s own figures. Over the past five years, the United ...